Lock and Key
by PyRo-the-FanBoy
Summary: Riku helps Sora out of a tricky spot, and in a way that has them both giddy like the school kids they are  AU, SORIKU, COLLAB


**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square-Enix and Disney, no money is being made for this fanfiction.

**Pairing:** Soriku (Riku x Sora)

**Summary:** Riku helps Sora out of a tricky spot, and in a way that has them both giddy like the school kids they are (AU, SORIKU, COLLAB)

**Authors Notes:**

**PyRO- **Welcome to the first collab b'tween Jaffa and PyRO

**Jaffa- **.Kisses and PyRO-the-fanboy are pleased to announce their unholy union, and the love-child produced

**PyRO- **A baby born of a Cheering Fanboy

**Jaffa- **and a Squealing Fangirl 33

**PyRo- **Hold on tight kids

**Jaffa- **and please, leave some tasty reviews for our baby 33

**Lock and Key**

The school bell trilled overhead the only high-school on Destiny Islands, signalling the end of the day.

Chatting students filtered out from their respective classrooms, piling out to further overcrowd the halls. Sora, crouching down to make himself a smaller target for the stray elbows and knees of the other students, made his way through the mosh-pit to his locker, swiftly puching in the code to give him access to the dilapidated thing.

Books, balanced percariously on the edge of the small shelf inside, wobbled in their usual threatening manner. His P.E bag sat dauntingly in the bottom, reminding him of how long it had been since he'd taken the socks home for a wash, various nicknacks, notes and photo's littered the inside of the door.

The same door he was shoved against a moment after smiling at.

Sora flinched at the force he'd been shoved. Unlike the stray elbows he'd copped since the bell, this push seemed more dilibretly aimed at him.

"Look at the runt squirm," a voice chuckled behind him, seeming to dare him to turn around.

"Are you ignoring me, runt?" the voice asked again. Sora recognised it this time.

Pete Harrington, the jerk that pegged the baseball at him in todays PE class. The bully that had been making his life hell since he moved to Destiny Islands six months ago.

Sure enough, he was shoved again, Pete's gooneys laughing as he slipped inside the locker.

"You tried to stand up to me at the cafeteria today, runt," Pete reminded the smaller boy, "I don't stand for that. This is my school."

With that comment, Pete slammed the locker door shut, and a heavy shadow appeared across Sora's limited light informing him the bully was leaning against the locker, apparently keeping people from knowing what was inside.

Sora's heart raced with fear. What would happen if the school emptied out? Would they leave him in the locker, or would they beat him up, showing him who was 'boss'?

The sound of footsteps and talking students filtered away and Soras worry grew more and more overwhelming.

Pete occasionally made jokes about Sora in the quietist moments when no one would hear him and wonder why he was leaning across Soras locker, or maybe put two and two together.

Finally, enough students seemed to pass for Pete to feel that hed gotten away with it, the only people left on the grounds were the cleaners, who were inside, and the deliquents who wouldnt give a shit about the boy in the locker.

Sora's twin was away 'sick', rather wagging with his delinquent of a boyfriend, and Sora's small pocket of friends had various activities to keep them occupied after school.

"Okay runt, heres whats gunna happen. I'm not gunna hurt you today, this is a warning, but you try to pull that shit again and you'll end up worse then that Namine girl, understood?"

Sora made a small noise in the affirmative, to scared to vocalise words properly, let alone ones that would make the bully believe him.

Pete and his lackeys all seemed to find that halarious, given their laughter.

Sora made to get up, expected to be released from the locker, but the sound of him shuffling only seemed to make Pete laugh harder.

"Oh, I'm not letting you out," he informed the boy through the locker grate, "your gunna stay in there all night and think about what you've done."

Sora slumped back down atop his PE bag, heart thudding.

"Have a good sleep in there, pipsqueak," Pete laughed, and slowly, casually his footsteps walked off.

The further away the footsteps got, the harder Sora's heart pounded. He hated enclosed spaces.

Loathed them.

It seemed like more then a joke, more then a cruel prank. This was torture for Sora.

He slumped down further against his bag, giving a small whimper as he tried to convince himself the space was bigger then it actually was.

He would try breaking the door down, but the teetering pile of books would likely knock him out on the first bang, and even if it didn't, there was the posability he wouldnt be able to break free. And then what hope did he have?

He closed his eyes tightly and tried thinking of something else, anything to keep his mind off the situation, and the place.

The homework he had due this week, the chores he had waiting for him at home, the plans for movies on the weekend with Kairi and the now home-tutoured namine.

The blush on his brothers cheeks when he informed him he was skipping school to spend some time with his new boyfriend, the millions of possable reasons why his stoic brother would be blushing about something like that.

But no matter what he thought of, everything seemed to circle back to his predicament.

Even his phone had been confiscated, leaving him no oppertunities to call for help. It would take Axel two seconds to break down the locker door, even less if Roxas asked with the puppy eyes he was so fond of using.

Suddenly there was a new sound of footsteps. These ones hesitant as they got closer.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," a voice murmered, barely audable through the metallic door of the locker.

Soras heart leapt into his throat, he knew that voice.

Riku, the boy that more girls then went to the school had crushes on.

The first boy to say 'hi' to Sora, and smile that heartbreaking smile of his to brighten Sora's world.

even if he sounded different, there was no mistaking a voice that velvet.

Just as Sora was about to call out to him, he realised how rediculous he looked.

Sitting on his own PE bag, locked inside his own locker, sweating with fear, blushing with nerves...

No matter how small his chance with the school heartthrob was, how impossable for someone that hot to both swing that way and be available and interested in Sora was, Sora didn't want his crush to see him in the state he was in.

'If Riku's here theres probably others here still as well' he tried to assure his worried brain.

"This is never going to work..." Riku mumbled, throwing all Sora's thoughts, helpful or not, to the winds, "where's all your confidence Riku? Leaving notes in lockers is so eighties. People **ask** each other out face-to-face these days."

Sora's heart (just for a little more exercise today) plummited as he realised why Riku was in the school so late.

Leaving a note for his own crush, asking some girl out.

Apparently someone he REALLY liked too, if he was this nervous about asking her out.

If Sora was a closer friend to the heartthrob, and was on the other side of the locker he'd be torn between uging the silver-haired teen on, telling him to find the courage because no girl could ever resist him, and throwing himself at the older boys feet and begging him to concider boys might be a better way to go...

Even if small little gay boys did get locked in their own lockers...

Riku's footsteps grew closer, Sora's mind tried to work out which girls had the lockers near himself, who would he be envying for the rest of his school life, before he fell in love with some other handsome stranger?

Ollette's locker was three down from his own, but she was dating Pence, the chubby guy with the contagous smile who knew more codes, games and passwords for XBOX then Microsoft probably did.

But Riku's footsteps came closer.

Next to him, Sora struggled to think, were Hayner (Olletes brother) and Demyx (a Sitar player with strange hair). They were both male.

Sora's heart gave a painful lurch. So maybe it was a boy Riku was crushing on after all.

The boys footsteps halted just a few steps away, and Sora forced himself to breath quietly.

He didn't know if it was better, or worse now he could think of Riku and a boy. On one level, it gave him more of a chance, on the other level, it meant he would be that much closer, and yet still denied.

He silently wallowed in pity, even as he listened intently when Riku spoke next.

"What if he's straight?" Riku asked himself quietly, confirming at least part of what was on Sora's mind.

Sora wondered for him. He was pretty sure Hayner was straight as an arrow, even though he was his twins best friend. Demyx he was unsure about, he seemed pretty gay, but he hit on Larxene and Aeirth, teachers in the classes they shared.

"What if he's gay but doesn't want me?" he whispered next. Sora had to stop himself laughing aloud, who wouldnt want Riku?

"What if he doesn't talk to me because of this stupid note? I think we'd be good friends..."

Sora almost sobbed with the suspence of the whole situtation. It seemed like a bad drama, or something pulled from a D grade novel.

Then suddenly Riku seemed to gather the courage to take the next few steps, and Sora's heart began beating so loud he was afraid Riku would hear it himself.

Then, a quiet whispered "Please don't hate me," and with a flash of shadow something fell from the grate above him, falling onto his hair.

For a moment, Sora forgot how to breathe.

Him?

Riku picked him?

Out of all the girls, and boys, and anybody out there that Riku could choose, he picked the scrawny little kid with bullies lining up to take his lunch money?

Then Sora's breath left him in a heavy exhale, all his worries from earlier, about where he was, what he looked (and smelt) like, flew from his mind to be replaced by a bright giddy happiness.

He thudded on the locker door in front of him, feeling only a little guilty as Riku's shadowy siloutte seemed to jump about a mile in the air.

"Riku? Can you help me out?" Sora called, barely recognising his own voice, as saturated with happiness as it was.

"S-Sora?" Riku yelped, then swiftly moved forward to the grate, "why are you inside your locker?"

Sora rolled his eyes, happiness made him playful and with the note now clutched tightly in his hands he was willing to forgive the silver haired teen a little stupidity.

"Bullies," he informed the older boy, uncaring for the moment if that made him sound weak, "would you mind helping me out?"

"S-Sure, um, whats your combination?"

"Zero Eight One Three," Sora relayed, uncaring if his crush knew the password he protected from even his own twin.

The sound of the lock clicking open flooded the small space and without thinking instinct drove Sora to immediatly push open the door and breath in the freedom.

He forgot, however, to warn Riku.

The door swung open, taking Riku with it.

He yelped in surprise and Sora hurriedly grabbed the door, stumbling over the PE bag hooked in his feet and trapped in the now closing locker door.

With a yelp, he went down.

Riku tried to catch him with one hand, the other holding his nose after it had collided with the locker door.

They fell in a tangle of limbs on the cold, unforgiving asphalt.

"H-Hey," Sora greeted his crush feebley.

"Hney yoshelf," Riku tried to smile, still holding his nose.

Sora couldn't help it, he broke into a fit of nervous laughter, "I'm so sorry Riku," he giggled, "I wasn't going to speak up, cause I smell like PE socks and was shy, but you were so brave," he clutched the letter closer, suddenly afraid it would be snatched back now Riku had seen his true, clumsy side, "I had to say something... and the light in there was terrible to read."

Riku was turning pink now, but at least the hand clitched to his nose was lowering, "you... you heard everything I was saying?"

Sora, too, began to blush. "I.. I didn't mean to eavesdrop," he confessed, shyly, "I just... didn't want to embarass either of us, and I was really curious who you were asking out..."

Riku shifted, and Sora blushed even harder, hurrying to sit.

"Um, well, it was you," Riku informed him.

Redundancy was also easy to forgive, Sora decided.

"I'm glad," he promised, with a shy smile.

Riku's smile stretched, and it was beautiful, dazzling the already awe-struck Sora.

"Can I walk you home?" Riku asked, "protect you from any more gaping lockers?"

Sora grinned, "I'd like that."

Riku stood and held a hand out, Sora grasped it and found himself pulled to his feet. The locker was shut and relocked, Sora kicking it once for good measure (then whispering a quiet 'thankyou' to it when Riku moved a little away).

They started walking in silence towards the schools main gate, sneaking glances at each other every now and again, rekindling the blushing whenever they happened to look at the same time.

Sora, in a moment Riku wasn't looking, snuck a glance down at the note in his hand, and slowly began to open it, unable to handle his curiousity any longer.

Riku caught him, however, and his footsteps faltered.

"Y-youre gunna read it?" he stuttered.

Sora smiled shyly, caught out but still dying to read it, "is that okay?"

Riku looked away, the way Axel did when Roxas employed the 'puppy-eyes' which was amazing, because Sora always though Roxas was the only one in the family with the ability.

"Yeah, you can, um, read it," Riku allowed, though didn't look up no matter how long Sora watched.

Sora's fingers twitched and he finished opening the envelope with his name written in neat cursive on the top.

He unfolded the note slowly, wary of creasing something so valuable to him. He started reading, and the first line had a silly smile growing, and growing on his face.

_Sora,_

_When you started at this school I was amazed by your strength._

_Your first day you were trusting and kind, you stuck by your brother, but that was for you both, and you never once looked lost when he and that red headed menace took to ditching you at school._

_You made friends so easily, and I was greedy and happy to be your first. Do you know how cute you looked, when we shared our first smile?_

_I don't know how good of a friend you concider me, with the crowd that like to stay near you, but your getting to be my best friend._

_That being said, I'm a greedy person Sora, and I admire you and want to steal you away from every one else, even for just a few minutes every day._

_I want to be the first person you look for when you get to school, and the person that walks you home afterwards._

_I want to be able to kiss you goodbye when we get to your door, and call you when I get home, because I miss you, when I know I can't see you until the next day._

_I want to take you out on the weekend, and just do all those silly cliche things I used to laugh at couples for doing. You know, before I met you._

_I want to be the boy you think of, if you think of boys at all, and I want to be the one you trust to lean on, when even your strength isn't enough._

_Sora. Will you go out with me?_

_-R iku_

Sora gingerly traced the signature on the bottom, the 'R' so apart from the rest it was as though Riku had wondered about signing it at all.

He looked up to find Riku's eyes still averted, a blush still radiating from his cheeks.

He smiled anyway, softly and reached out a hand to clasp Riku's.

Riku looked at him hurriedly, and apparently liked what he saw because he returned the smile and squeezed the hand now in his.

They walked in silence, but it was a warm, comfortable silence.

Sora's house seemed to meet them swifter then usual, and for once, and despite his dramatic day, he was rather sad to reach it.

He reached over and unlocked the gate, leading Riku up the stepping stones to the front varanda.

There was a shy moment between them, as they both searched for the right words to say.

"So..." Riku mumbled, making Sora's smile grow.

"So," the brunet teased playfully, squeezing the hand still held tight in his grip.

"You accept?" Riku asked, shy like not even Sora's daydreams could have made him.

"I accept," Sora confirmed, smiling brighter, "does this make us boyfriends?"

"Well..." Riku thought it over, "it doesn't make us girlfriends."

Sora laughed freely at having his own redundancy pointed out, he fished through his pockets with his free hand, holding the note neatly folded once again under his arm. He found a sharpie and popped the lid with his teeth.

He tugged the hand he held higher and scrawled on it, his messy writting looking even worse compared to the neatness of Riku's note.

"This is so you can call me when you get home," Sora informed him shyly, "I'll give you my mobile number when I get it back from my homeroom teacher."

Riku looked at the numbers like they were the answer to the meaning of life, before smiling at Sora once again, "thank you."

"Thank you for writing the note, and choosing today to deliver it," Sora laughed, "thank you for liking me back, when you didn't even know I liked you too."

Riku's smile grew, and it was infectious, like all the other smiles they'de shared today.

He tugged their conjoined hands gently, and leant down, claiming Sora's very first kiss with soft and sure lips.

It was a light pressure, a sweet promise.

"I'll call you when I get home," Riku promised, "after I've pinched myself to make sure im not dreaming."

Sora suddenly stood on his tiptoes and echoed the kiss that was given to him.

"I'll be waiting for it," he whispered, "and I'll look for you at school tomorrow."

Riku blushed brighter at the acknowledgement to his letter, but as he reclaimed his hand his fingers brushed along the numbers with something akin to worship.

"I'll talk to you soon," Sora promised, lingering, not wanting the farewell to end.

Riku smiled and moved away, onto the steps of the varanda, taking the hardest step of all to break the longering softness. It helped that he stumbled, and Sora couldn't contain the giggle.

"Talk to you soon," he said, rubbing the back of his neck with embarrasement.

Sora watched him go before slipping into his house.

He let the door fall closed behind him before leaning against it, not noticing his giddy smile.

Then, slowly he put his hands in front of him, and pinched himself harshly on one with the other.

It might have seemed strange to anyone watching, but the pain made him happier then anything in that moment.

_It isn't a dream._

**-END-**


End file.
